Ice Cream and Chocolate
by kialajaray
Summary: Helga and Phoebe talk to each other about their favorite, obsessions: ice cream and chocolate
1. egg rolls and pop rocks

***********Serious redo!!!**************

I realized (while being bored tonight and just going through and re-reading my fics.) That this is VERY hard to read close to the point of torture. I couldn't even get through the first sentence before my eyes started hurting. I made the paragraphs a lot shorter and I separated it whole they would talk to each other so now it should be easier to read. I didn't change the story just fixed the paragraphs and made changes to errors that I found. When I get the chance I'm going to do it to Egg Rolls and Chocolate too and I'm probably going to change it a little b/c I REALLY neglected Gerald and Phoebe. But I'm not sure when that's going to be.

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**ok i would like to thank acosta perez jose ramiro for giving me the term chocolate. he has a REALLY good story call** when blondes collide** so if you havent read it yet, you should. alright, ths came to me a few days ago and i decided to post it up. at 1st i was going to leave it a oneshot, but being the hopeless romantic that i am, i love happy endings so theres gonna b about 3 or 4 more chapters.**

**summary: while doing homework, helga and phoebe talk about their favorite foods, chocolate and ice cream.**

* * *

Seventeen year old Helga Pataki stared off into space as her best friend, Phoebe Hyerdahl, finished writing out the last math problem for their homework that night. Realizing that her friend wasn't doing her work, Phoebe sighed. "You know Helga, you should really apply yourself more. There are only twenty-five problems, and it took less than an hour to do them. So mathematically speaking, it would only take-"

Rolling her eyes, Helga said, "I know, but can we skip the eye-crossing fractions and decimals?"

Blushing slightly, Phoebe replied "Sorry."

Smiling, Helga shook her head as she looked at her friend. It was only two weeks until the end of their junior year in high school, and Helga was sure that her best friend was the only one still worried about homework. Thinking about the little time they had left to be juniors, Helga thought about all that happened in her life since she'd known Phoebe.

The first thing that came to her mind was of course, Arnold. It was sad to say that she'd been in love with him since pre-k. Helga knew it, and she also knew that the fact that she had gotten no where with Arnold was even worse. After the she had confessed to him, then took it back afterward, she stopped teasing him. It had taken some getting used to for everyone, but barely anyone remembered how much she tormented him.

Sighing, she tried of get back to her work. "Is something wrong Helga?" She heard her friend ask concerned. "If you want to take a break we can."

Shaking her head, she said, "It's not that Pheebs. I was just thinking about how after this year, it's just one more then we're out in the real world."

Nodding her head in agreement, Phoebe said, "I concur Helga. But, as you have just stated, there is one more year left. A lot can happen in a year, even the impossible."

"Yeah, right." Helga grumbled. "What can happen that hasn't already? Think back to when we were at P.S. 118. Curly was obsessed with Rhonda, who didn't want anything to do with him. Now they're the school's cutest couple. Eugene was the most accident prone nerd in school. He's the star basketball player now. Brainy lost his hunched-back, glasses, finally got a tan, and stopped that creepy breathing." Helga said the last with a shudder.

Smiling, Phoebe said, "Brainy has become a very big ladies man since then. I don't believe anyone remembers what he was like when we were younger."

Crossing her arms and leaning against the footboard of the bed, Helga made a sound of disgust. "Well I do. And not too fondly either. Brainy is a great friend…now. But all those years ago, I can't remember how many times I punched him for sneaking up behind me and just breathing."

Giggling, Phoebe said, "You should have been flattered. He was crazy about you."

"Yeah, emphasis on crazy." Helga shot back. "You know he tried to give me a fake diamond ring once. It was after one of the first times I started to see my shrink. I didn't hit him then, I was in a good mood." She didn't tell her friend that she was in a good mood because she had just confessed to the psychiatrist that she was crazy about Arnold. Helga was never sure if Phoebe knew or not if she was in love with Arnold or not, but she knew she wasn't going to ask her.

"Are you sure that you weren't leading him on?" Phoebe asked jokingly.

Helga gasped and threw a pillow at her laughing friend's face. "I did not! I hit him almost every time I saw him. I can only remember on two occasions where I didn't hit him. One was with the ring situation I just told you about, and the other was when-"

Helga stopped mid-sentence when she remembered what she _did_ do instead of hit him.

"You were saying Helga?" Phoebe said.

Sighing, Helga decided just to say it. It was years ago, it shouldn't matter now right? "I kissed him on his cheek. But just once."

She could tell that her friend wanted to laugh and tease her, but instead she said, "May I inquire as to why?"

Sighing again, Helga said, "It was after I found out that that potion I had drink really didn't work when I tried to get over Arn-I mean ice cream." Helga would have figured that after all these years of hiding it, not announcing that she had feelings for Arnold would be easier, but obviously it wasn't, at least it wasn't when it came to her best friend.

"Oh." Was all Phoebe said, but Helga could tell that she wanted to say more. They were quiet for awhile and Helga was about to tell her friend to spit it out, when Phoebe suddenly said, "You decided that having your obsession for ice cream was for the best, correct?"

Helga hadn't thought about that conversation she had with Phoebe about 'ice cream' in years. She wondered where this was going. "Yeah. Ice cream was my muse. I realized that it was better to have the obsession with ice cream, than not to have it." "

Oh." Phoebe said once again, more quietly this time.

Helga could see that a lot was on her friend's mind. Concerned, she asked her, "Pheebs, if you want to talk about something, you know you can with me right?" Phoebe started to shuffle the papers from her notebook around, and Helga knew that her friend was nervous. If Phoebe was nervous, then something was really wrong. The only time she ever got nervous was when she was around-

"You still have an obsession with ice cream, right?" Phoebe asked her nervously.

Arching a brow, Helga said, "Yeah. Since I've grown up, I don't handle it the same as I did when we were little, but it's still there. What about it?"

Where was Phoebe going with this? Helga wondered. It was true that a lot had changed since they were nine, like Helga finally getting along with her parents. Bob and Miriam didn't call her Olga any more, and Miriam stopped drinking 'smoothies.' She even liked to spend time with Olga. She had put Old Betsy and the Five Avengers away shortly after her little rooftop confession, so by the time that she was in middle school, she had made friends with everyone, even Gerald, who she was never close to.

But they never spoke about 'ice cream' as an unspoken mutual agreement. Before she could ask her friend anything, Phoebe said, "I have an obsession also, and I would like your advice on it."

Seeing that this was important to her friend, Helga said, "Go ahead."

Taking a deep breathe, Phoebe started, "I have an obsession with…chocolate. I have for a long time. And I'm not sure if it's worth the time or should I just let it go."

Even though Helga face didn't change, she saw where this was going now. Gerald. She had half wondered, half knew, that Phoebe had some kind of feeling towards the boy, but never asked. If she did, then Phoebe would ask questions that Helga would rather leave unanswered.

"Well, if you _want _to have this obsession with chocolate, then it isn't a waste of time. It all comes down to if obsessing over chocolate makes you happy or not."

Sighing, Phoebe picked up a pillow from her bed and hugged it. "But chocolate is such a popular candy. Everyone wants it. Someone different has chocolate every month. Why does it matter if I like chocolate too?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Helga said, "Plenty of people are crazy over ice cream too. That doesn't stop me. Just as long as you're doing it because you actually like chocolate. Not because everyone else does."

"I know that some people like chocolate just because it's a popular…treat, or because it looks nice. But that's not why I like it. It's nice, and good to be around. But with everyone trying to get to it, why bother." Phoebe said glumly.

"Hey." Helga said trying to cheer her friend up. "You're the optimist here, remember? Look at it this way; everyone loves a sundae, right? Some people like it because of how it looks, some people like it because of the way other people would envy them if they had one. Not too many people realize that there are different parts to a sundae. Ice cream and chocolate go really good together, but they are different. I personally wouldn't want chocolate. I wouldn't want the banana, the cherry, or the nuts either. But if you actually like chocolate as an individual topping, for itself, then you have a better chance at chocolate than most people."

"Chocolate goes better with whipped cream than it ever would with egg rolls." Phoebe said to herself more than she did to her friend.

Knowing how it felt to compare herself to every girl that Arnold would date she said, "Says who? I think that egg rolls are great. They give chocolate a calming taste, and chocolate gives egg rolls a taste of excitement that it needs sometimes."

Phoebe seemed to think about that. Going back to her unfinished homework, Helga stopped when she heard Phoebe say, "What about ice cream and…pop rocks?"

"What about it?" Helga asked cautiously. She had more or less revealed that she had feelings for Arnold with this conversation, but that didn't mean that she wanted to talk about it.

"I think that ice cream and pop rocks go good together." Phoebe told her, giving her a look.

"Nope." Helga said quickly. "The moment pop rocks get around ice cream, the start to pop and crackle. It wouldn't work. Ice cream would prefer strawberry syrup. Soft and sweet. The opposite from pop rocks, hard, tart, and unpredictable. And sometimes, the popping can hurt someone. It would melt the ice cream until it was just liquid."

"Not true, Helga." Her friend said to her. "Yes, initially pop rocks are hard, tart, and unpredictable. But after awhile with them, you realize that they are actually sweet and they don't pop anymore. I also believe that if ice cream would melt when in contact with pop rocks, then it would do so immediately, not a long period afterward."

"I don't think so Phoebe." Helga told her as she shook her head. "I've seen of ice cream go well with a lot of other stuff, but never pop rocks."

Phoebe couldn't be right, Helga thought. She and Gerald would make a cute couple, but not her and Arnold. It was true that Arnold had always been nicer to her than she deserved, especially considering the fact that she made his life a living hell until they were almost in middle school. But that was just because Arnold was a nice person. Helga couldn't remember a time since they started high school that she saw Arnold without some girl chasing after him. She knew that she couldn't compete with those girls.

"If you don't believe that they would go good together, then I will be forced to reevaluate what you have just told me about chocolate and egg rolls." Phoebe told her bluntly. Helga saw that Phoebe had trapped her, so she kept her mouth closed.

Both girls were quiet, lost in their own thinking. Phoebe had known for a long time how Helga felt about Arnold, but she also knew that unless she brought up the subject, she wouldn't talk about it. Mentioning 'ice cream' had made Phoebe think of Arnold, which had her thinking of Gerald. She had a crush on him since the fourth grade and when he and Helga had started to get along with the two boys on a friend level, she talked to him more.

All the while her crush was growing and growing, but she never had the courage to do anything about it. Then high school had come, and Phoebe, unknown to Helga, felt the same way Helga did; Gerald was out of her league. She couldn't compete with all those outgoing girls. She was just Phoebe. Quiet, smart Phoebe. Luckily, no one had gotten a big head from whatever popularity they had gotten once high school started, so the all still talked to each other.

Unluckily, Phoebe had gotten more and more nervous as they had gotten older, so now at seventeen years old, she could barely talk to Gerald without making some excuse to end the conversation in fear that she would do something to humiliate herself. She supposed that was why Helga had teased Arnold so much when they were younger.

"Hey Helga," Phoebe said drawing her friend out of her thinking. "Yeah Pheebs?" Helga answered. "This conversation, never happened." Phoebe repeated the same words that her friend did all those years ago.

Remembering, Helga smiled. "Right, forgetting"

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**ok the egg rolls thing wasnt rascist was it? i didnt think that it would b but sum ppl might think that it is. if that is, then so is chocolate, and i'm not racist towards my own race so yea. i no that i give alot of food so i'll name em******

ice cream-arnold of course  
chocolate-gerald  
pop rocks-helga  
egg rolls-phoebe  
banana-stinky  
cherry-harold (I got that from red its almost pink and its round)  
nuts-sid (honestly I couldn't think of ne thing else 4 him)  
whipped cream-any girl that phoebe thinks is popular and has a better chance at Gerald  
strawberry syrup-lila

if there was one that i missed, and you cant tell which one it is, just tel mel. u dont have 2 review b/c i dont all of the time, but i would like to no if u like it or not so it would be apperciated. i'll try to post the next chapter n the next few days, but with work, sleep, and my mom hogging the computer, i can't make ne promises. OH! before i 4get. i go 2 this website 2 download hey arnold episodes. its they have all the episodes except the halloween one and the movie i think. but sum of em dont work. ne way its a good site. and if ne one nos where i can get the hey arnold! movie plz tell me. ok im leaving now.


	2. chocolate and egg rolls

ok, i'm so sorry it took so long to update. thats why i usually write the story b4 i post it. that and the fact that if i want to change sumthing i can. ne way here's the next chapter. i think that theres only going 2 b two more after this. thank you everyone for their reviews. Pointy Objects told me that it was hard to read, so i tried to make it easier, but i'm not sure if i did.

b4 i 4get, i in no way shape or form own hey arnold. if i did, everyone would be married with kids by now. and arnold would have his parents back.

so now on with the story.

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"It's only the third week of summer vacation and all ready I'm bored to tears, crimney!" Helga complained to Phoebe as she threw herself down on her bed. Phoebe looked up from the book she was reading in her friend's chair. She knew that it didn't take much for Helga to go stir crazy, unlike herself, who was content to read a book all day long. Knowing that it wasn't going to happen, she put the book down. "What would you like to do Helga?" She asked her. Helga gave an aggravated sigh as she got up and started to pace. "That's just it! There isn't anything _to_ do. After that big party Rhonda had on the last day of school, I doubt that her parents are going to let her have another until it's her kid's tenth birthday. We've seen just about every movie that's out and if I have to knit another pair of booties with Olga for her baby, I'll scream." "I thought that you were excited about your sister having a baby." Phoebe asked her friend. Rolling her eyes, Helga said, "I was, until I found out that being excited included making a million pair of socks the kid is going to out grow in a month."

"What about the shopping, that couldn't have been all that difficult." Phoebe said logically. Groaning loudly, Helga threw herself down on the bed again. "_Please_ don't remind me about that. From the way Olga was charging threw the stores, you'd think _I _was the one who was six months pregnant, not her. We went to seven stores. Seven! And we didn't even get everything. Phoebe, I'm telling you I had nightmares about stuffed teddy bears and baby clothes." Smiling Phoebe said, "Surely you won't still think that way Helga once all the pomp and circumstance is over and the baby is finally here." Sighing as she sat up, Helga said, "You're right Pheebs. Sorry about all this complaining, I don't know why I'm so crabby today. All I've been doing is complaining about not being able to do anything, when I didn't even ask you. Is there something that you want to do?" Helga always surprised Phoebe, even after all these years of knowing her. She knew that her friend loved and cared about her, she just didn't show it in the usual way. Still, sometimes, like now, Helga would surprise her with a random act of caring.

Shaking her head, Phoebe said, "Sorry Helga, but there isn't any activity that I can think of that I would currently want to pursue." Helga looked at the book in Phoebe's lap. "What about your book? If you want to finish it, I can go watch TV with Bob." Shaking her head again, Phoebe said, "No thank you Helga. I have already read it, and I was just refreshing my memory on the Roman empire. It is rather interesting, but I can do it when I get home." After making sure that her friend really didn't want to go back to her book, Helga rested her chin in her hand and stared off into space.

"What did we ever do when we were younger and it was summer vacation?" Helga asked more to herself than she did her friend. Thinking back, Phoebe had to admit that she couldn't really remember either. There always seemed to be one incident after another, so being bored was never a problem, even during long breaks from school. Trying to search her memory, she said, "I seem to recall that we spent an extravagant amount of time at the lot near Arnold's house. If my recollection is correct, we had a very good time there."

"Wow, I haven't thought about Gerald Field in forever. I remember when Arnold knocked me out cold with a ball. Thank God he finally learned how to play." They reminisced about Gerald Field for a few more minutes, until Helga stood and said, "You want to go over there now? See what else we can remember." After Phoebe agreed, they made their way down the stairs. Hearing them, Bob met them at the bottom.

"Are you two going out?" He asked them. Looking at Mr. Pataki, Phoebe still couldn't believe how much had changed between the man and his daughter. She could still remember how much it hurt her friend that her parents called her the wrong name half the time, and the other half had forgotten all about her. She knew that was a big reason why Helga had lashed out at everyone when they were younger, but now everything was different. Phoebe wasn't sure when it happened, or _what_ really happened for that matter, but their relationship had completely reversed, they no longer compared her to Olga, and they were now a loving family. She had always disliked Mr. and Mrs. Pataki for the way that they treated her friend, but she saw how happy her friend was now, and she couldn't be any happy for the family.

"Yeah, Dad. We're just going down the field that we used to play in when we were younger." Nodding his head, Bob said, "Just don't stay out to late, it's supposed to get cold tonight." Leaning down, he kissed his daughter on the cheek. "Have fun." He added as Phoebe and Helga left the house. As they walked the few blacks to the field, they discussed what they could do that weekend and the gossip they had heard from their other friends. After getting to the field, they saw that a few mitts and a baseball were left there. Putting the mitts on, they tossed the ball to each. Neither one of them spoke, keeping to their own musings.

"Hey, Phoebe." Helga said breaking the silence. Tossing the ball back to her, Phoebe said, "Yes, Helga?" Catching the ball and throwing it back to her, Helga said, "How's the chocolate situation going?" Helga watched her friend think about the situation as she tossed the ball back and forth between her hands. She hadn't seen Arnold since the last day of school, and she was sure that the same went for Phoebe with Gerald. Since the conversation they had a few weeks ago, she had started to watch her friend closely when she was around Gerald. Anytime that she got around Gerald, it would always be the same; Gerald would try to start a conversation with her, Phoebe would hold her own until some girl would try to talk to Gerald, and she would get nervous, stutter out an excuse, and get away from him as fast as she could. Helga knew that even though Phoebe was one of the best people she knew, she was just to shy. At least when it came to Gerald anyway.

Tossing the ball back to her friend, Phoebe shrugged her shoulders. "The circumstances of the situation haven't altered since we discussed the issue. May I inquire about your ice cream situation?" Tossing the ball back to Phoebe, Helga had it tossed back to her before she answered. "The same as you. Even though pop rocks won't snap and crackle around ice cream any more, it's still hard keeping everything hidden I guess." Throwing the ball back to her friend, she heard Phoebe sigh as she caught it. "So many people want chocolate. It's practically impossible to get near it." Catching the ball after Phoebe threw it, Helga thought about her own situation. "It's not that too many people want ice cream, it's me not wanting to make a dork of myself when I'm around it. Since ice cream is better, more people want it, so it's even harder." She said the last as she tossed Phoebe the ball.

"I have to disagree with your statement, Helga. I believe that chocolate is the better treat. It has more appeal and looks better." Catching the ball that was tossed to her, Helga tossed it back. "You're entitled to your opinion, Pheebs, but I think that ice cream has more to offer, and it's more satisfying than chocolate." Phoebe caught the ball and threw it back, as she said, "You are correct about having your own opinion, but I beg to differ. When ice cream is compared to chocolate, it doesn't stand a chance." As Helga caught the ball, she wasn't sure if it was her own imagination, but it seemed as if Phoebe had throw the ball harder than she had before. Tossing it back with the same amount of force, Helga said, "Sorry Pheebs, but you're not right this time. Ice cream is better to have than chocolate."

"Everyone wants chocolate. Not everyone wants ice cream" Phoebe said defensively as she caught and threw the ball back to Helga. Helga was now sure that Phoebe was throwing the ball harder. She had thrown it even harder than her previous throw. Tossing it back as hard as her friend did, Helga said, "How can everyone want chocolate, when just about everyone's _had_ chocolate?" She saw that Phoebe's face had started to turn red. "Ice cream is so plain, no one wants it for very long, that's the only reason why it is in the running with chocolate." Phoebe told her throwing the ball even harder.

Catching it, Helga shot back as she threw the ball, "Please, Phoebe. Chocolate has been passed around so many times, there's nothing else to it. Ever heard of the term, used goods?" Gasping, Phoebe said angrily, "Ice cream can't say that though. It's surprising that it's even gotten to anyone's lips before melting from heat and fright." As Helga caught the ball that Phoebe threw, she had to admit that she had quite an arm on her.

"At least everyone's lips haven't been on ice cream. I wouldn't be surprised if chocolate didn't have any taste left to it, considering how many hands and lips it's passed."

"Well, ice cream is so sugary sweet, it would give someone a toothache within minutes."

"I'd rather have a toothache, than a cold sore. Don't know who's lips been on chocolate. Chocolate probably doesn't even know." Helga shot back. every time the ball was thrown, it was thrown harder than before. Helga knew that Phoebe was wrong. Arnold was so much better than Gerald. There wasn't even any competition. She heard her friend yell back, "The only thing that can be around ice cream is strawberry syrup, and that's only because it's even sweeter than ice cream."

"Are you to arguing about ice cream and chocolate?" A voice from behind them asked. Gasping they turned to see Arnold and Gerald. Unfortunately, Helga and Phoebe turned right after Phoebe threw the ball, causing Helga not to pay attention, and the ball to go higher than Phoebe intended. The end result was Helga getting knocked in the temple of her head with the ball that Phoebe threw, which Helga was thankful it wasn't as hard as she could.

As Helga looked at the sky, she wished that the world would just open and engulf her. She couldn't believe that she argued with her best friend, and over boys no less. And then the boys in question both showed up to see and hear them argue. She thanked God that they didn't use their names. She came out of her thinking as she heard her name being called, and saw three concerned faces looking down at her.

"I'm so sorry Helga!" Phoebe exclaimed. "I didn't mean to hit you with the ball. It slipped when Arnold said something." Phoebe crouched down on one side of Helga, as Gerald went to the other, and Arnold held her head in his lap. Helga vaguely thought that she could stay there forever with no problem, as she said, "It's alright Phoebe. I have a hard head so I'm only seeing one of everyone, I can't make any promises about later though." Looking straight up, she met Arnold's concerned gaze. "You'd think that I would have learned to stay away from you if a baseball was anywhere around."

She saw that Arnold was confused, but heard Gerald laugh as she sat up. "Oh yeah. You did hit her pretty good when we were younger. She even lost her memory for a while." He said to Arnold as he helped Helga up. Helga was glad that Arnold didn't know that she faked the amnesia just to spend time with him. Looking over at Phoebe, she saw that her friend was still very worried. Touching the side of her head, she told her, "Don't worry Pheebs, I'm fine. I'll just have one heck of a bruise and a headache. Remember when you broke your leg and it was my fault? We're even now." She saw Arnold and Phoebe exchange a glance, and Phoebe go slightly red. She wondered what that meant, and she was going to make sure she found out.

"But she made you break your leg right after that." Gerald said. Rolling her eyes, she waved that away. "Who's keeping count? I'm fine. What are you two doing here?" "Well," Arnold said. "My house _is _right across the street. We were going to the store, then we saw you two and decided to say hello." Looking from Helga to Phoebe, he continued. "Were you two really arguing over ice cream and chocolate?" Trying not to turn red, Helga shrugged her shoulders. "It's a girl thing." Was all she said. As the four teenagers talked, Helga had to fight from rolling her eyes. Anytime Gerald tried to start a conversation with her, she would mumble or stutter a reply, making Gerald give up after awhile. She could tell from the frustrated look on Gerald's face that he felt something for her friend too. She had to do something.

Suddenly, she started to pat her pockets. "Oh no. I can't find my phone." She started to look around her, all the while knowing that her phone was in her front pocket. "Are you certain that when we departed from your house that you had it?" Phoebe asked her. "Positive." Helga said. "Remember I keep it incase something happens with Olga. I must have dropped it somewhere between my house and here." Turning to the boys, she asked, "Would you two mind helping me find my phone?"

"Sure, Helga. What color is it?" Rolling her eyes again, she said, "As if you need to ask. It's a light pink flip phone with a white stripe going across the top." After faking her search for the phone for a few minutes, she said to Phoebe, "How about me and Arnold go retrace my steps and you and Gerald search the field." Before anyone could argue with that statement, Helga dragged Arnold away from the field by his hand. Before turning the corner, she turned to Phoebe and said, "Hey Pheebs, after you're done, try to get that chocolate bar you've been wanting." Not waiting for a reply, she turned the corner and dragged Arnold down the street.

Phoebe was speechless at her friend's last statement. She had intentionally split them up this way so she would be alone with Gerald. She wasn't sure if she wanted to kill or kiss her friend. "So…" She heard Gerald say. "How about we look where you two were playing catch?" After she agree, they looked threw the grass. After a few minutes of fruitless searching, Phoebe realized that most likely, Helga's phone was in her pocket where she always kept it. Sighing, she stopped searching. It was pointless to look for something that she knew wasn't there.

Hearing her sigh, Gerald looked at her. "Is something wrong?" He asked her. Shaking her head, she told him, "No, nothing's wrong, but I'm fairly certain that Helga dropped her phone on the way over here. If it was dropped here, we would have found it by now." After they stopped their search, they stood in an awkward silence as Phoebe look in every direction but him. Gerald wasn't sure if it was just him, or what, but he knew that Phoebe was always nervous when she got around him. He didn't know why, but that made it kind of hard to talk to someone you wanted to ask out on a date. "Uhh…" He said in an attempt to break the silence. "What made you decide to come to the field today? We haven't played ball here since before high school."

Finally looking at him, Phoebe said, "While we were at Helga's, we talked about what we used to do when we were younger in an effort to fight off boredom. Gerald Field was brought up, and we came here to see what else we could remember about it." Gerald was sure that that was the most she had said to him at one time since they started high school. Not wanting her to go to her revert back to her usual way, he kept the conversation going. "I remember when the adults tried to take it over. After we threw the trash bin here, they gave it back." As they talked about other things that they remembered about the time spent there, it gradually went to other subjects.

"I remember when Arnold threw a geeks only party when Rhonda barely invited anyone to the party she threw." Phoebe said. "I remember that party." Gerald said. "I remember having so much fun because I spent most of the night dancing with you." He watched her turn red and try to stammer out a reply. Knowing what was coming, he spoke before she got a chance. "I miss spending time with you. I know that when we were in middle school, we would talk all the time. Now we don't."

Phoebe looked at him for a second before she answered. "I also recall that we talked in middle school, but I believe that we no longer have the time to. You have your friends and I have mine. Even though most of them of the same people, you have your sports, and I have my academic associations. And between that and typical teenage life, it's not unusual that we don't talk as much as we used to." She watched him stare at her and blink a few times. Then he started to laugh. She didn't know what she did that was so funny, but it was precisely why she didn't talk to him much. She did something to embarrass herself in front of him. All she wanted to do was disappear and not show her face again for years.

Seeing her face of confusion and discomfort, Gerald said, "It wasn't any thing you said…Well it was but not how you think." When she just stared at him waiting to explain, he continued. "I think that's the first time I've ever heard you say something that didn't have at least a ten letter word in it. And you still manage to say things that can make a person's eyes cross" Slightly hurt, she said, "I didn't realize that my use of vocabulary was a problem to you." "No!" She heard Gerald say quickly. "It's not a problem at all. Actually, I like it. It shows that you're not just a pretty face and a empty head, like most girls at our school are."

Blushing at the compliment, she said, "Thank you Gerald. I also believe that you're not just a handsome face as some individuals like to believe." Phoebe was shocked that she was actually able to have a long conversation with Gerald as not to want escape. She would make sure that she thanked Helga for her phone ploy.

"Hey Phoebe," She heard Gerald say. "Yes, Gerald?" She asked. "I don't really know how to say this, so I'll just blurt it out. Would you like to go to the movies with me this weekend?" Phoebe's whole body completely froze. _Gerald_, one of the most popular boys in school, actually wanted to go out with her, _Phoebe_, one of the most geekiest girls in the school? Not that she hadn't wanted him to ask her that very question more times than she cared to admit, it still was a shock when he did. Taking her quietness as a rejection, Gerald started mumble an excuse. "It's alright if you don't want to. I understand if you have something else to do. I guess I'll see you around."

Catching his arm as he turned away, she said, "You didn't give me a chance to answer." He turned completely around and looked at her, waiting for it. "Would it be o.k. if I did something out of character instead of answering you verbally?" Gerald arched a brow at her, but nodded his head. Taking a big breathe, she stepped in front of him and leaned up as she pulled his head down to meet her lips. She felt him freeze for a moment then return the kiss. She wouldn't be able to say for the life of her how long it lasted. But she knew that it was the best experience in her life.

Pulling away from the kiss, Gerald looked down at her and said, "You know if you didn't want to go out with me, all you had to do was say so." Looking him straight in the eye, Phoebe said, "If all I wanted was to accept or reject your offer, I wouldn't have kissed you." He smiled. "Why Phoebe, is that a proposal I hear?" Shrugging he shoulder she said, "Maybe it is." Smiling even wider, he said, "Phoebe would you like to be my girlfriend?" Instead of answering him, she pulled him into another kiss.

At the front of the vacant lot, Helga watched her friend kiss her long time love. "Wow, Phoebe. I told you to get the candy bar, not devour it." She was so glad that her plan had worked. After pretending to search for her phone with Arnold, she told him to head in the opposite direction of the lot, while she backtracked to the lot. She wasn't able to hear what was being said, but from seeing her friend starting the kiss on both occasions, she could tell that Phoebe had finally gotten her chocolate.

"Helga, there you are. I've been looking all over for you." Arnold's voice sounded from behind her. "Did you find your phone?" He asked her. Pulling it from her pocket she showed it to him. "I never lost it. It was with me the whole time." She watched his face go from confusion, to annoyance. "Then why did you have us all on this wild goose-" She cut him off. "Can it football head." Stepping back from her spying, she said, "I had good reason to lie." Folding his arms over his chest, he said, "And what's the 'good reason?'" She pointed around the corner to the field. "Look."

When Arnold looked around the corner, he got a big smile on his face. "It's about time he finally did something. He's been mooning over Phoebe since the beginning of junior year." Shaking her head, Helga said, "I don't know. It looks like Phoebe finally did something." After explaining what she saw, Arnold gave a quick glance back at the new couple. "They're still at it." He said. Shaking his head and smiling again, he turned to Helga. "Since it doesn't look like they're coming up for air anytime soon, how about I walk you to you're house." Faking a curtsy, Helga fought the butterflies in her stomach as she said, "I would love that kind sir. Lead the way."

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isnt that sweet? well of course i would think so b/c i wrote it. i no that phoebe is ooc, but when it cums 2 love everyone is. i no that there was a lot of things that i wanted to put about the story, but i can't think of anything right now. oh well. i hope that who ever reads this likes it. but if you dont, that's ok 2. and if anyone has any suggestions on how to make my writing better, i will gladly accept it. ok i'm done talking. please press the purplish button and tell me what you think.

kialajaray


	3. ice cream and chocolate

ok, i'm sorry that it took so long to update. but work had been crazy and when im not working im either sleep or doing sumthing else. i dont really like this chapter, but i wanted to put sumthing between gerald and arnold in it. u can tell me how much it suxs if u want but trust me i already know. and im sure i didnt use commas when i should have and did use them when i shouldnt.

thank you to everyone who reviewed i really apperciate your feedback.

i dont own anything about hey arnold other than this fan fic.

on with the story.

b4 i 4get if u want 2 download the episodes the fan page is called arnlds eyes. it wot let me put the url up on here 4 it but just go 2 google and search arnold's eyes it should be the 1st thing to come up.

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Arnold thought about the last few months as he walked with Gerald to the school parking lot. Not much had changed since the summer and the two months that they had been back to school, other than Gerald and Phoebe finally getting together of course. He remember whenever Phoebe was brought up in a conversation, it took everything in him not to sigh and roll his eyes. He couldn't understand why Gerald just didn't go up to her and ask her out. He did with every other girl that he had wanted to date. But all of that had changed that day in the field. Since then, the two had been inseparable and the new cutest couple in school. The only problem Arnold had was that some of the jealous girls started saying very mean things about Phoebe. Not that they did it for to long. It didn't take anyone long to realize that Helga would kill for her friend. When Helga found out that people were saying slanderous things about Phoebe, she had found the girls who were saying it and almost got suspended. Needless to say, no one else dared to say anything about Phoebe.

Another problem that Arnold had was, after realizing that Gerald had no intention of breaking up with Phoebe, they move their intentions from him to Arnold and his other friends. Arnold didn't even want to think about the number of times he had to practically run away from the girls in his school. He had spent a lot of time with Gerald, Phoebe, and Helga in an effort to get away from them. That also led to him spending a lot of time with Helga, since they made sure they weren't third wheeling to the new couple. He had to admit, she had changed a lot since the were little. She didn't insult and threaten people like she used to and he found out that she was a really good person to talk to.

"You there man?" He head Gerald say, bringing him out of his musing. "Yeah, sorry. What did you say?" Rolling his eyes, Gerald said, "I _said,_ Phoebe wants to study tonight, so is there something that you want to do?" Arnold thought about it for a moment, then told his friend, "You can come over and play Halo 3 if you want. I'm not doing anything tonight." After his friend agreed, they started to talk about the school day, which of course had Gerald ready to gush about Phoebe. Cutting him off before he was able to, Arnold asked, "What does Phoebe want to study? It's a Friday." Smiling at the mention of his girlfriend, Gerald said, "Her and Helga had a Physics test to study for. Not that Phoebe needs to study, she's the smartest girl in school," He ignored Arnold's eye roll. "But she wants to help Helga study, so it looks like you're stuck with me tonight."

"You know," Arnold said. "I never really realized how close Phoebe and Helga were until now." Gerald shook his head. "I know. Helga already told me that if I hurt Phoebe, she'd castrate me. And that was _after_ she'd beat me beyond recognition. I guess some things never change." Shaking his head in disagreement, Arnold said, "Helga's changed a lot. Even you have to admit that. She only threatens people when they mess with her or someone she cares about." Giving his friend a look, Gerald said, "So is that why she went off on Stephanie when she practically jumped on you?"

Turning red, Arnold stuttered out his reply. "We're friends. Why wouldn't she?" Getting to his car, Gerald rolled his eye. "You know that's not what I meant. Helga's been crazy about you for years." Before Arnold could reply, Gerald got into his car and closed the door. Sighing in annoyance, Arnold did the same. Gerald couldn't be right. As much as Helga would tease him when they were younger, he was sure that she had most likely hated him more than she had liked him. And before Gerald and Phoebe started dating, they barely spoke to each other. Gerald was wrong about this. "And how would you know? Did Phoebe say something to you about it?" He asked, half wanting to believe what Gerald said, and the other half not wanting to.

"Please. As if she would do that to Helga. Helga would probably kill her. I've known for years. Did you really think that I was joking when I said I knew _everything_ about the neighborhood when we were young?" As Gerald pulled out of the parking lot, Arnold kept up his protests. "Come on Gerald, you remember how much she used to torment me. There's no way that Helga had a crush on me." Shaking his head at Arnold, Gerald was amazed at how clueless he was. She acted the exact same way around Arnold that Phoebe used to act around him before they started dating. Well not the _exact _same way. She would get either annoyed or intimidated by the other girls, and find a reason to leave. Unless the girl was like Stephanie. Then she would just tell the girl off. And he had a feeling that his friend liked Helga fighting another girl because of him.

"If you say so man. Even if I am wrong, which I'm not, it's obvious that the two of you have something going on." Gerald was able to count to two before his friend exploded. "We do not!" Arnold yelled. Gerald arched a brow at him. "Get real Arnold. Anytime we do something, you want to know if Helga's coming. Or whenever we do something, you two always make up an excuse to leave." "Of course we would leave." Arnold shot back. "If Helga wasn't coming, I'd be stuck being the third wheel. That's why I ask. And we leave so we won't get sick to our stomachs with all the lovey dovey stuff you and Phoebe do."

"Jealous because it isn't you and her?" Gerald asked. But before Arnold could yell again, he said, "What's Helga's favorite color?" Arnold was thrown by the question because Gerald seemed like he genuinely wanted to know. "Lavender. Why?" His friend shrugged his shoulders. "Just wanted to know. I would have figured that it would be pink." Shaking his head, Arnold said, "She told me that it was the only color her parents would buy her for years. She hates the color actually." "Then why is her phone pink?" Gerald asked her confusedly. "She said that it reminded her of when we were younger." Arnold answered.

He wondered why Gerald wanted to know her favorite color out of the blue. Before he could ask where his friend was going with this, Gerald started to talk again. "How is her sister? Last I remember, she couldn't stand her." "That's not true. Not anymore anyway." Arnold said. "They get along and talk all the time. Olga had her baby a month ago, and Helga's always going over to her house to see her. She took me once."

Gerald asked Arnold a few more odd questions about Helga, until he asked, "Why do you want to know so much about Helga? Last time I checked Phoebe was your girlfriend." Gerald was quiet for awhile before he answered. "So you said that when she gets mad, her left eyebrow starts to twitch?" At Arnold's nod, he continued. "She's allergic to strawberry, but it's her favorite flavor for candy. Her mom taught her how to ride a mechanical bull when she was younger, and she had a nightmare once that the Rat King kidnapped her and made her is rat queen, and since she's terrified of rats, anytime she has that dream, she can't go back to sleep."

"Yeah, so?" Arnold asked. Gerald looked at him like he was stupid. "Dude, who knows that about anyone? I don't even know what nightmares keep Phoebe up at night, and I'm dating her. How does she know about the Rat King anyway?" Arnold sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, as they pulled up in front of his house. "Something about dropping her locket down a sewer drain, and met him when she had to go get it." Getting out of the car, Gerald said, "Was it from her grandmother or something? That can be the only reason she would risk being around rats. Remember when we got stuck in the subway? She almost had a nervous break down when she saw one."

Walking up the front stairs of the boarding house, Arnold shrugged his shoulders. "She never said where she got it from, then she changed the subject. It doesn't matter." Setting his stuff down at the door, Gerald looked his friend straight in the eye. "You never answered my question." Rolling his eyes, Arnold said, "What was the question?" Making a sound of exasperation, Gerald said, "You know what the question was. Why and how do you know so much about Helga G. Pataki?"

Arnold just shrugged his shoulder again. "We have been spending a lot of time together. What do you expect? For us to just stare at each other and say nothing all day?" He heard Gerald mumble something as they climbed up the stairs and decided to let it go. He didn't have the energy to argue with Gerald on if Helga liked him or not. When they reached the top, they were met by Arnold's grandfather. "Hey there Short Man." He greeted them "How was school you two?" After talking to the for a while, Phil looked at his watch.

"Usually you two are out with the little girl with the one eye brow and her friend. No date today?" He asked them. At the same time Arnold said, "Her name's Helga." Gerald said, "Her name's Phoebe." Phil stepped back and held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry. I know to call your girlfriends by their names from now on." Arnold protest wasn't far behind. "She isn't my girlfriend." He said angrily. "You could have fooled me Short Man. You two have fun with whatever you kids do nowadays." His grandfather told him.

Before either boy could say anything else, Phil turned and walked down the stairs. Gerald arched a brow at Arnold. "See, I'm not the only one who sees it." Shaking his head, Arnold turned to climb the stairs to his room. Opening his door, he walked to his bed and lay down. "So," He heard Gerald say evenly. "Are you going to tell me what's going on between you and Helga?"

Arnold gave a frustrated groan as he sat up. "There isn't anything going on between me and Helga. We're just friends, that's it. There's no way that she likes or liked me like you said she did when we were younger." Gerald shrugged as he picked a mini basketball from the floor and started to toss it into the air. "If you say so man. I guess you never noticed how dreamy she'd get whenever you used to touch her." Arnold rolled his eyes, as he left his bed and went to his computer desk. Gerald didn't know what he was talking about, not this time. Yes, it was true that he and Helga had gotten closer in the last few months, but he doubted that she had feelings for him other than friendship. He also doubted that she ever did.

"Fine." Gerald sighed as he sat the ball down next to him. "If you don't want to admit that has got a thing for you, then you can at least admit that you have a thing for her." Arnold froze. He didn't have a thing for Helga. Sure he liked spending time with her, and they would flirt from time to time. But he didn't 'have a thing' for Helga as Gerald put it, they were just friends. Gerald was way off his mark with this one. Voicing his opinion to Gerald, he said, "I don't have a thing for Helga, we're just friends. And how would you know if I have a thing for Helga or not? You and Phoebe barely come up for air long enough to catch a breath, so how would you know what me and Helga are doing?"

Throwing the basketball at his friend, Gerald said, "What Phoebe and I do, is our business. Stop trying to change the subject. You know that there's something going on between you and Helga." They argued about it for a few more minutes until Gerald said, "When was the last time you thought about Lila?" Arnold gave his friend a confused look. "What does Lila have to do with this?" "Just answer the question." Gerald said to him.

Thinking that his friend loved to get off the subject, Arnold said, "Uhh…not since summer I think. Why?" Rolling his eyes, Gerald said, "Don't you think that it's strange that you stopped thinking about your elementary school crush when you started to hang out with Helga?"

"So? Lila and I broke up right before school ended last year. Why would I still be thinking about her?" Arnold said.

"Please Arnold." Gerald said dryly. "It's me remember? I know that you've been crazy over Lila since we were young. You were ready to jump for joy when she 'like-liked' you. God that term is so stupid and I still say that she only dated you because you reminded her of Arnie. Anyway, when you two broke up-and the relationship only lasted two months, which wasn't even worth it-you were moping around until we saw Helga and Phoebe in the field. Ever since then, I don't think that you've given Lila a second thought."

"Like you just said, it only lasted two months. Yeah I moped around for awhile, then got over it." Arnold defended. "We just realized that it wasn't working out between the two of us. And hanging out with Helga and Phoebe gave me something else to do, so of course I didn't think about Lila."

"Correction," Gerald said. "Hanging out with _Helga_ made you forget about Lila." Arnold gave up. He couldn't reason with Gerald. His friend would think what he wanted. Regardless of what Gerald thought, Arnold knew that there wasn't anything going on between him and Helga. Alright, Arnold would admit that he thought about kissing Helga a few times, but that was just hormones. Every teenage boy wanted to kiss a cute girl at sometime or another.

That thought brought Arnold up short. He thought Helga was cute? It wasn't that he thought she was ugly, he just never thought about it., not consciously anyway. So he thought that Helga was cute, big deal. That still didn't mean that he liked her. Yes, it was true that he would rather spend time with her than any other girl, but that was because she was so easy to talk to…wasn't it?

Arnold couldn't believe that he was letting what Gerald said get to him. He didn't feel the same way towards Helga the way he had for any other girl that had caught his interest. He always felt the need to impress them, but with Helga, he knew that he didn't have to. Not that he wanted to of course. He was fine with just being himself around her. She'd probably bite his head off if he did try to impress her. Also, with other girls, he was always jumpy and nervous. He wasn't when around Helga. What he felt was…He thought about how he felt and came to the conclusion that he felt contentment when he was around her. That was a surprise to him as much as it would be to anyone else.

Arnold debated with himself for a while longer, but he always came to the same conclusion. With Helga, things were different. He didn't have to put on airs when he was around her. He could be himself around her and she could be herself around him. He sighed as he moved back to his bed to lay down, ignoring Gerald, who was playing a video game. He wouldn't lie to himself, he did like spending time with Helga, and he did think about her in a way that a person didn't think about a friend.

After sighing again, Gerald broke the silence. "If you sigh one more time, I'll throw something at you. What has you so deep in thought that you have to annoy the crap out of me about it?" Not moving from his position on the bed, Arnold answered, "Maybe I do like Helga." Going back to his game, Gerald said, "Told you so. When are you going to ask her out?" Rolling his eyes, Arnold sat up. "I don't even know if she likes me or not. And I'm not like you, I just don't walk up to girls and ask them out on dates."

"Have you been listening to anything I've been saying?" Gerald asked, putting down the game controller. "Helga's crazy about you. That's why she would pick on you so much. You never noticed how she gets upset and always finds a reason to leave when a girl gets around you? And don't let Lila come around, she'll disappear so fast, you won't even be sure if she was ever there."

"I still don't know Gerald." Arnold said. Sighing, Gerald went back to his game. "You're hopeless Arnold." Moving from his bed, Arnold sat down next to Gerald and took the second controller. "So were you when you wouldn't just ask Phoebe out on a date." Gerald gave him a glare. "Even if I was, I'm not anymore and you are. Just ask the girl out on a date. She'll say yes."

"Yeah, and if she doesn't, I'll have you to thank for my black eye." Arnold said, as he started to concentrate on the game. "Anytime man, anytime." His friend told him.

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like i said earlier, it suxed. and arnold all of a sudden realizing that he liked helga didnt match up. i no its not really consistent but i wanted to write this before i wrote about him and helga. and im not a boy so i dont really no how they think. and i didnt do much of gerald's pov n this one and the last one b/c honestly, hes the hardest for me to get n character with. but i wanted to put him in there anyway, so i tried.

i'll try to up date n a few days, but i cant make any promises b/c my next day off isnt for another 4 days. so please click the purplish button and tell me what u think. im off 2 go 2 bed b4 work.

kialajaray


	4. pop rocks and ice cream

im so sorrie that it took so long 4 me to write this chapter but with work and all other crap i didnt have the time. thank u to everyone who reviewed. and desdemona i took what u said n2 consideration and tried to make it easier to read. and i want 2 give redit to acosta again 4 an idea n the story. football head isnt used meanly anymore.

no I do not own hey arnold! please stop thinking that i do

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Helga wandered the streets of her town as she thought about nothing. Phoebe was on a date with Gerald, and her parents' anniversary was today and they had went out. So instead of sitting at home watching TV, she decided to take a walk. Her feet led her to her old school, PS 118. It looked nothing like what it did when she lasted walked the halls of the school. It had been closed a few years before, why Helga wasn't exactly certain. In some cases she had heard to was lead paint, and in others she heard it was toxic mold.

Whatever the reason, the school board hadn't corrected it, so the school remained closed. As she walked up the steps, she wondered about Mr. Simmons. She hadn't seen him much since she left PS 118, and since she started high school, she hadn't seen him at all. She had to admit, even though he wanted everyone to get in touch with their feelings more than she had liked, Helga knew that Mr. Simmons was one of the few teachers left in the world who actually cared.

Her thoughts left her old teacher as she realized that the door to the school was unlocked. She thought that strange. There wasn't any graffiti outside of the school, so it didn't look like someone had broken in, but she stuck her head in and listened for anything just in case. Going inside the school, she walked around remembering things that she hadn't thought about in years. Walking past the principal's office, she remembered how Curly went ballistic one day, and threw dodge balls at everyone. Seeing the auditorium reminded her of how she played the part of Juliet after she had confessed to Lila that she liked Arnold. Helga wasn't sure if Lila remembered Helga's confession to her, and even if she did, she would have to think that she didn't have it any more. At least Helga prayed she didn't.

She stopped when she saw that she had reached her old classroom. Helga smiled at the rush of memories the assailed her as she went to her old desk. How they had all went crazy and ran away from Mr. Simmons when that flood had happened. When they had to use every trick that they knew to get rid of that drill sergeant to get Mr. Simmons back. Making sure the desk wouldn't collapse under her weight, she sat down. After a moment, her eyes trained directly on the seat that Arnold used to occupy.

Things between them were a lot different now. For years, they had barely acknowledged each other in school, now they spent most of their time together. They could only stand to be around Gerald and Phoebe for half and hour at the most, then they would make some excuse to leave the couple. The time that they spent alone, all they did was talk. She had even stupidly told him how she went down to the sewers once and almost ended up the Rat King's Rat Queen. She had to hurry up and change the subject because she didn't realize that she mentioned her locket. And there wasn't anyway that she was going to tell him what was in it.

Spending time with Arnold was great. Except when some girl or another would try to get his attention. With half jealousy half annoyance, Helga would only be able to take it for so long until she either walked away or went off. Like with that girl Stephanie. She was all over Arnold and Helga had tried, she really had. But it wasn't long until she had told Stephanie some not very nice things that made Helga pretty sure she wouldn't even think about looking at Arnold again.

Thankfully, everyone in school just took it for friendship and not anything else. That was something that they really were now. Not just someone he would help when he thought they needed it when they were younger. But actually friends and Helga loved that fact. Even though she loved the fact that they were friends, she also hated how much harder it was to hide her feelings. Before, it wasn't a big deal. They barely spoke, she didn't have to worry about hiding them for to long or slipping up. Now, half the time she was catching herself from saying something reveling and the other half she was stopping herself from almost kissing him.

Helga was thinking about how much easier it was before her hormones kicked in when a very familiar voice said, "There you are Helga. I've been looking everywhere for you." Thinking about him must have conjured him up, because as she turned her head, Arnold walked into the room.

Trying to sound casual as possible, she said, "Hey football head. What brings you here?" She watched as Arnold shook his head and smile slightly. They both knew that the term 'football head' wasn't said with mean intent anymore. Arnold even suggested calling her uni-brow. That wasn't something Helga had liked, especially since she'd had two of them since the eight grade. Arnold just laughed at her and said he wasn't serious. But he would find a name for her.

"I could ask you the same question. I was driving when I saw you walk by here. Before I could say anything, you came in here." Arnold told her as he took a seat next to her. Helga forced herself to drag her eyes away from his beloved face before she answered.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I was walking and this is where my feet took me to. I decided to come in and reminisce about the past for a while." She watched Arnold look around the room as it dawned on him.

"Isn't this out old fourth grade class?" At her nod he continued. "I remember now. I used to sit right there." He pointed his finger to a desk that was in front and to the left of them. "I don't think that anyone but you ever threw a spitball at me." After he said that, Helga felt herself turn red.

"Well, it's no secret that I was a bully when we were here. I was mean to everyone, except Phoebe." She told him glumly. She didn't want to get into that. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that she did all of that because she liked him.

Holding up his hands, he said, "Hey, I'm not trying to get on you for it. We were like what? Nine? That was almost a decade ago. We've both changed since then. And I knew that you were just doing it as a defense mechanism."

Giving Arnold a look, she asked, "Against what?"

Arnold's expression softened. "I saw how your parents treated you when we were young remember? I know you acted that way to cover up how you really felt."

Helga's eyes flashed. "Something that will never change is I will never except pity."

"Calm down Helga." Arnold said defensively. "I didn't mean that I pitied you now or back then. I just understand why you acted the way you did." He was quiet for a few minutes, then, "What _did_ happen between you and your parents for everything to change?"

Helga didn't reply. None of her friends knew what really happened to make her finally get along with her parents, not even Phoebe. She didn't like to think about that time in her life, but could she really tell Arnold? She wanted to, but she didn't know how he would react. Deciding to take a chance, she took a deep breath and started to talk.

"I left." Was all she said simply.

Arnold looked at her confusedly. "You left? What, from your house?" It was obvious to Helga that in the time she hadn't spoken, he had figured that she wasn't going to answer and his mind went to others subjects.

Shaking her head, she said, "It was the summer after eight grade. I told Phoebe that I went to see an aunt spur of the moment." Arnold still looked confused until he realized what she was saying. "You ran away?" He asked her.

Nodding her head, Helga started to tell her story. "That summer, I went to the youth center a lot and I was in a production they were putting on. Remember the one that I put on about the food groups?" She said the last trying to lighten the mood but by the intent look on Arnold's face, she could tell it didn't work. Continuing she said, "It was really important to me and I wanted my parents to be there. I begged them to come and I left reminders all over the house. Opening night came and they were nowhere to be seen. When I got home, I asked them why they didn't show and Bob said that they had more important things to do than go see me in the play. Olga called so they spent four hours talking to her."

"I'm sorry Helga." Arnold said. He knew, just like everyone, that Helga had had neglectful parents. Half the time Mr. Pataki couldn't even remember Helga's name, and the other half he was only concerned about his beeper store. He always thought that they cared about her, they just never showed it like they did with Olga. Apparently, them missing her play was the straw that broke the camel's back.

He watched her stare off into space, and it seemed to Arnold, that she wasn't in the classroom anymore. "It wasn't hard to leave, and I knew that it would take awhile for them to realize that I left, if they ever did at all. I left them a note on my bed saying 'I'm leaving.' That was all. Later the night, I walked right out of the front door. Miriam was passed out in the kitchen next to the blender, and Bob was asleep in front of the TV."

"How long did it take them to realize that you were gone?" Arnold asked her.

Helga shrugged he shoulders. "Two days. I think that Bob had some important dinner with cell phone dealers that he wanted me to go to. He went to my room and found the note. He called Phoebe, but she hadn't seen me since the day before the play. After telling her that I probably just went to the store and didn't tell anyone, they went to the police and putting in a missing person report."

"Then why wasn't it on the news that you were missing?' Arnold asked her. Arnold watched the news everyday, and he never seen anything about her being missing.

"The police decided not to say anything to the media. Since Bob's company is so big now with cell phones and every other electronic, they said that if someone found me, they might have tried to hold me for ransom, so I was safer without anyone knowing. They found me four days later. I was asleep on a park bench when two cops saw me. They brought me back to town and to the station. When my mom and dad saw me, they we hugged me and cried and I went ballistic. It was like everything had built up and came pouring out at one time. I yelled why should they care now, when they never did. They never paid attention to me, Miriam was drunk all the time and all Bob cared about was Olga and his business. I told them that if I had to go back, I would just leave again. I don't remember what else I said, but apparently the cops were listening, because they said I had to be put in foster care pending an investigation. After a few weeks of counseling and being in a foster home I decided to come back."

"I'm so sorry Helga." Arnold told her. He had no idea that she had to go threw all of that. And she didn't say anything about it. Arnold knew that it must have been very hard for her to have to do that all by herself. "If I had any idea I would-" He was cut off by her shaking her head.

"You can't solve every problem in the world Football Head." She said smiling. "But thank you anyway." Getting up from the desk, she turned to the door. "Come on. It's to serious in here now. Let's go to the playground." Knowing that he still wanted to talk about what she had just told him, Helga grabbed his hand and dragged him from the desk and the classroom.

After getting to the playground, Helga climbed up the monkey bars and sat at the top. Looking down at Arnold, she said, "Can you believe that it's almost been ten years since we were here. It seems like we were here yesterday, but a long time ago at the same time. You know what I mean?"

Arnold nodded his head as he climbed up the monkey bars and sat down next to her. "I know." Pointing to the street, he said, "I remember when I broke Eugene's bike." They talked and laughed about memories for awhile until Arnold said, "Remember when we tried to make Lila jealous by thinking that we were going out?"

_Of course I remember it._ Helga thought. _It took everything in me to wait until you couldn't see me to pass out from pure happiness._ Laughing instead, she answered. "Yeah I remember. It didn't try out the way we planned though." Arnold laughed even harder at the comment. "Arnie ended up getting a crush on you and following you around until he left."

He laughed even harder at the glare she gave him and didn't stop until she pushed his arm with her own. "That's not funny." She said hotly. "You didn't have to listen to him name the ingredients on every wrapper he was able to get his hands on." She gave a shudder at the memory that renewed Arnold's laughter.

"We could have been cousins Helga." Arnold told her. She would have liked to be his wife more, but she kept that to herself. The conversation dwindled as they each were drawn into their own thoughts.

Arnold kept replaying the talk he had with Gerald in his head. He knew that he liked Helga more than a friend. Just how much more he didn't want to think about just yet. But he wasn't sure how to bring up if she liked him back or not into the conversation. If only she gave a sign of it-

He stopped short when a memory came flooding back. She _did_ gave him a sign once. But he hadn't thought about it in years. The day on the rooftop when he found out that she was Deep Voice. She had said a whole bunch of things that had freaked Arnold out, she even tried to kiss him if he remembered right. But after they had stopped Scheck, she said it was a spur of the moment thing and she didn't mean. Arnold had put it out of his mind shortly after that.

But what if it wasn't just 'spur of the moment' like she said? Gerald did say that she liked him for years. He knew he wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it until he found out the truth. Deciding that there was no time like the present, he said, "Do you remember Scheck?"

"Good Lord." Helga said. "I haven't thought about that for a long time. How long did he get in prison?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Arnold said, "Twenty to thirty I think, can't really remember. I didn't think that me and Gerald were going to make it. You helped us a lot you know."

Helga darted her gaze away from him and shrugged her shoulders. "The money was wonderful, but what difference would it have made if I didn't have my friends or my old neighborhood?" She knew one of the main reasons she decided to help Arnold was because she knew if she didn't, she wouldn't see him again. All the money in the world wouldn't have made up for that. "It was the right thing to do." She continued.

"Well," Arnold said. "You kept surprising me that day." Before Helga could think about it, she said, "How?" Then she realized what he was talking about. The Confession. It was even capitalized in her head. It had taken her months to convince herself that he didn't believe her. And she had hoped that he had forgotten about it. But apparently not.

"Oh, I don't know." Arnold said casually. "Maybe since you said that you were in love with me, had a shrine of me, wrote poetry about me, and a bunch of other things that pretty much meant that you liked me, when I thought you hated me."

She knew it was coming, knew that one day he might actually think back on their childhood and start to question. Helga had always hoped that she would be on another continent when he did though. Now she had to choose between lying or telling the truth. Neither one sounded appealing.

"I never hated you Arnold." She said, attempting to ignore the whole subject. She had to change the subject. Now. Before he could answer, she said, "How are things with you and Lila?" She could tell by the look on his face that she had completely surprised him with the change of subject.

"What do you mean 'how are things?' We broke up last school year. We're still friends, but we don't talk much anymore." Arnold said. Even though Helga knew all that, it still surprised her how nonchalant he was about the situation. It wasn't a secret that Lila had liked Arnie the moment she met him. Whenever he would visit, she would always find a way to be around. The year before, Arnie had visited for spring break. Helga didn't see him because she went out of town to visit a cousin of hers. But she was told that if Arnie and Arnold were somewhere, then so was Lila.

When spring break ended, that was when Lila started to date Arnold. Helga had always suspected that Lila only did it because she thought that she was getting Arnie in a way. It made Helga want to kill Lila, but she didn't say anything about the subject. She had a feeling that Arnold knew it too, but was still crazy over her so it probably didn't matter to him. But something wasn't right in paradise, because after only two months, they broke up. It made Helga want to jump for joy and cry at the same time. She was beyond ecstatic that he wasn't with her anymore, but she knew that they break up hurt him too.

"Actually," She heard him say, drawing her out of her thinking. "I haven't really thought about Lila much since…" His voice trailed off, making her look at him. He was staring directly into her eyes. It made her heart race and want to fidget, but she was able to get out, "Since when?" Was it her imagination, or was his face closer to hers than it was a few seconds ago?

"Since I started to be around you. I really haven't given Lila much thought since the day that you got hit in the head."

"Oh." She said. "Glad to be of service. I'm ever so happy that I can help." She said laughing a little nervously as she mocked Lila. It was time to leave. Things were getting way to serious way too. Opening her mouth to make her departure, she was cut off when Arnold stopped her with a serious look on his face and said, "Helga, if I ask you a question, will you promise to tell the truth?"

He sounded so serious that Helga knew it was important. Nodding, she said, "Yeah, I promise."

Turning to face her as best as he could on the monkey bars, he said, "Have you ever liked me? From when we were younger to now?" Helga knew it was the moment of truth. She also knew what she had to say.

Opening her mouth, she said, "No. I've never liked you." She was able to see disappointment all over his face. Then she watched him turn red. "Oh, well…Uhh…sorry I asked. It getting late, I think I should get going."

Grabbing his arm, she said, "Wait. I wasn't finished. I said that I've never liked you, because…" Taking a deep breath, she continued. "I've never liked you, because I've been in love with you since the first time I saw you when we were in pre-k. You stole my heart with an umbrella. I was mean to you for all those years because I didn't want anyone to find out just how crazy I was over you. All that stuff I said when you found out I was Deep Voice was true. I have a closet full of boxes, full of notebooks, that are full of poetry about you. The locket I dropped down the sewer, it was my locket that had your picture in it. That's why I risked rats to get it. Even the shrine is true. I don't have that any more though. One was made from bubblegum, one with a football for your head, and another one a watermelon."

She wasn't looking at him. She wouldn't be able to take the look of horror that was bound to be on his face. Taking another breath, she started again. "I can't even begin to name half the crazy things I did because of you. I convinced Lila to give me the part in Romeo and Juliet just so I could kiss you. I even faked being your pen pal Cecil just to go on a date with you. And that isn't even half as bad as some of the other things I've done when you're concerned. So to answer your question, no, I've never liked you."

Sighing deeply, she looked over at Arnold, who's eyes were big and round. Opening his mouth, all he was able to say was, "Oh…well…" Helga knew this would happen. What was happening was the exact reason why she knew that she should have taken it to her grave.

"I have to go." She said, as she scrambled down the bars. Wiping at her stinging eyes, she made her way to the school's main entrance before she heard Arnold calling her name. Moving even faster, she made it to the bottom of the steps before he caught her arm. "Helga would you wait?" Arnold told her.

"Wait for what?" She asked as she jerked her arm out of his hand. "For you to let me down easy? That you don't like-like me as Lila would put it? Thanks, but I'll pass." Moving away from him, she was stopped as he stepped in front of her.

"I never said I wanted to let you down-" He stopped when she tried to dodge in front of him. "Easy." He finished when she stopped trying to get away. "Can we just talk about this?" He asked her.

"So I can get stalking charges brought up? That's alright." She said as she tried to move pass him again.

Making a sound of aggravation, he said, "If you try to leave again, I'm going to throw up in the truck of my car and drive to some where deserted."

That froze Helga. Looking him up and down, she said, "You have to get me in the truck first."

Laughing, he said, "I'm an athlete, remember? I can easily pick you up and put you in the truck."

Throwing her hands up, she said, "Fine!" Going to the top stair, she sat down. "Talk." Was all she said as she looked at him.

"You could have let me answer before you started running away." He told her.

She gave him a look of disbelief. "You didn't need to. Your face said it all. You were shocked and horrified."

Shaking his head, he disagreed. "Shocked, yes. But not horrified."

"Please Arnold. You looked like you were ready to head for the hills."

Sighing, Arnold leaned against the concrete railing. "Well excuse me for taking a few seconds to get over the shock that you've loved me since we were three. That doesn't happen everyday you know."

Before she could answer, he walked up the stairs and sat down next to her. "Yes, it was a shock. The locket and poetry is sweet, but the shrine is kind of weird. But none of that matters when it comes down to the fact that you loved me. And still do, if I heard right."

"None of anything matters if you don't care back." She said to him.

"Who said I didn't care?" He asked her.

Freezing she turned to him, and looked at him for a long time. Finally, she said, "If you expect me to believe you if you say that you love me, then you're crazy."

"I'm not going to lie Helga." He said honestly. "I don't love you." He was cut off from saying anything else by Helga standing up.

"Well if you'll excuse me, I think that I'll go find a rock to crawl under for a few years." She said and made to go down the stairs.

Pulling her arm, he made her sit down next to him. "If you can let me finish?" He said. When no reply came from her, he started again. "I said I didn't love you, yet. That doesn't mean I couldn't or wouldn't ever love you. But I think that I'm already halfway there as it is."

"I don't believe you." she said not looking at him.

"Why not?" He asked offended.

"You said that you didn't think about Lila when we're together. How am I supposed to know that I'm not a rebound. That you're just saying this to get over-" She was cut off when his lips met hers.

Even after all the other times she kissed him, it had never really been a real kiss between them but this time it was different, this was they're first real kiss. She knew that she wouldn't think about any other kiss again. That was the last coherent thought she had as she kissed him back. When Arnold pulled back from the kiss, she was barely able to understand him as he said, "Does that seem like I was trying to get over Lila?" Before she could answer, he kissed her again.

It was Helga who pulled away from the kiss this time. Looking at her, Arnold said, "What's wrong?"

"Pinch me." Was all she said.

"What?"

"Pinch me. If it turns out this was just a dream, I'll never get over it." Smiling, Arnold took two of his fingers and pinched her lightly.

"There." He said "Satisfied?"

"Not really." She said, as she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Now I am." Then she pulled him into another kiss.

* * *

Alright, I didn't really like how this ended because to me there was just something missing, but I wanted it to be realalistic. Arnold only found out that he had feelings or Helga a short time ago. For him to be in love with her already wouldnt have been real. And the fact that I honestly think that any normal person would have run for the hills if they were told that. As much as I love the show, I've realized since I'm older that Helga is really crazy. Not my funny friend crazy but the kind of crazy that mean she should be put in a psych ward. She's still my favorite character though. And with Helga running away, for her to just suddenly get along with her parents wasn't real either, thats why thats in there.

Well I hope that you liked my Hey Arnold! fic. reviews are very much vauled.

kialajaray


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